So, today around 10:30 am, my cat fell from the second-floor window of my flat. I’d opened it to air out my bedroom and was making my bed when I heard a slipping sound; I turned around just in time to see my cat fall. I hadn't heard him come in and didn't know he was in the room with me. He usually climbs up on the windowsill, but I'm always there to watch him—I never take my eyes off him when he’s up there. I rushed outside; he was a few metres from where he’d landed. I picked him up and took him straight to an emergency vet. The vet examined him and said it wasn't anything serious (he’s limping on one leg, but the vet doesn't think it’s broken). I asked if there was any risk of internal bleeding or something like that, but he said the cat wouldn't look this ‘well’ if he had that. He checked his jaw and his legs, including the one he's limping on, and my cat didn't really react. Same when he checked his belly. He was just pottering around the surgery, looking at everything. I was quite relieved. The vet didn’t give him anything for the pain in his leg. So, I brought him home. When he got out of his carrier, he went straight to hide in a corner. I let him be but checked on him every ten minutes to give him a stroke. After half an hour, he climbed his cat tree without much trouble. He slept for about 20 minutes, but then he started moving around a lot—from the sofa to the floor, then back to his tree. And then finally, he went into a corner and was sick. I thought it wasn't too bad, probably just stress from the fall and the car journey. But now he’s started being sick again—he’s vomiting every half hour. He’s struggling to walk and his limp is much worse. He hasn't eaten or drunk anything, and he hasn't used his litter tray. He’s sleeping next to me on the sofa right now. I know the fall only happened a few hours ago and the vet said it wasn't serious, but I’m terrified. He’s really not well. I suppose it’s the shock, but seeing him like this is breaking my heart.
What should I do? Call the vet again or just leave him in peace? I’m scared of waking up tomorrow and finding he’s passed away from internal injuries. I would have felt much better if the vet had done an ultrasound or an X-ray, or even just given him something. What do you think?
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Your cat is gorgeous! Not quite as handsome as mine, obviously, but I suppose that’s up for debate! 😁
In all seriousness, I’m no expert either, but I do have a bit of a background in physics and first aid. Based on kinetics alone, I’d say it’s pretty much impossible for there to be that kind of issue. Basically, the brain is suspended inside the skull, and a concussion is essentially what happens when the brain hits the bone. That requires quite a bit of speed, even if they hit a hard object, so from what you've described, it's highly unlikely.
That said, you shouldn't rule anything out, and it’s possible his reaction has nothing to do with the fall, or even that the fall itself is just a symptom of something else. Cats are naturally incredibly well-balanced, so even if they're startled, they don't usually have coordination issues. I’m not saying this to worry you, just that while a head injury is really unlikely, the lack of coordination is something worth considering.
Knowing cats, I’d bet on it just being a bit of clumsiness, but definitely keep a close watch. Watch out for any houseplants if you have them! It’s just a thought.
I can't be sure if he got down of his own accord; as I said, my back was turned, but I heard him hit the floor, be sick, and then I saw him about half a metre away, slumped in a really unnatural way—it was quite worrying. But now, six hours later, his appetite is back and he seems to be doing fine. Maybe it was just a passing thing, but a concussion seems like a likely theory. I’ll definitely be keeping an eye on him though. He’s already back on the back of the sofa.
I hadn't seen the photo!
In that case, it’s possible that when he jumped off the chair, it rolled back because it’s on castors and he lost his footing, as they say. Maybe it was a fall where he landed on his tummy, but without making any promises, I think it’s unlikely he’s seriously hurt. Cats aren’t always as graceful as people say and they don't always land on their feet, but even so, from that height—considering the muscle tone of a healthy cat, which yours seems to be—it’s roughly like you falling out of bed while you’re asleep (not a bunk bed, obviously!). Normally, you’d just be a bit shaken up, or have sore ribs if there was something left lying around.
But no serious injury!
I’d reckon it’s more likely to be something he’s eaten that didn’t agree with him, or even something that has nothing to do with the incident at all!
Keep an eye on him anyway, to see if he’s poorly or has any coordination issues, but if that is the case, it’s almost certainly more likely that those issues caused the fall, rather than the other way round.
Honestly, I don't think so – that would be absolute madness. The back of a chair is only about 90cm (just under 3ft) high; it's highly unlikely, or even impossible, that he'd hurt himself jumping from such a low height. Especially since, from what you've said, he jumped down of his own free will. So, unless it was an office chair and you'd been spinning him around like a roundabout to make him lose his balance (I really hope not! 😂🤔), I don't think there’s any connection at all. Could it be a mild case of poisoning or just a passing bug?
To address the original post, even though it’s an old thread: two storeys up is about 5.5m (18ft) off the ground. Normally, from that height, unless the ground is very uneven or tricky, a cat should land without any real risk of injury. That doesn't mean they’d choose to jump from that height, but as long as he isn’t overweight, he should logically be able to land safely.
However, four storeys is a different story altogether – that’s 11m (about 36ft)...
I was stroking my cat while he was on the back of the sofa. I turned around, heard him jump down, and then he was sick. I asked him if he was alright, and that’s when I saw him all slumped over the wheels of my desk chair. I rushed to move the chair and my cat wasn’t moving. He was panting heavily with his mouth open, and he had some drool around his mouth, which stayed open with his tongue hanging out. I booked an emergency vet appointment, but I was told I’d have to wait two hours. I let him rest for about 25 minutes and went to have a shower. When I came back, he was in a corner and didn’t look right, but I let him rest for another good half hour; I could stroke him, but I didn’t dare pick him up straight away. I went to get the car ready, since it’s winter, and when I came back in I picked him up, but he wanted to get back down on the floor. I wanted to check if he’d broken a leg, but when I put him down, he started walking with no obvious pain. He started moving around fine but still seemed a bit shaken up. I cancelled the emergency appointment as it was very pricey, and I sat on the sofa with him by my side. He rested for a good 2 or 3 hours next to me. Now he seems fine, he’s eaten and had some water, but I’m trying to keep him off high surfaces and I don’t think he feels like jumping up anyway. My question is: could he have had a bad fall and ended up with a concussion? I’m going to keep an eye on him over the next few days and if anything seems off, I’ll book another appointment with the vet. Has anyone ever experienced anything like this? But as I said, I didn’t actually see him fall from the back of the sofa; I just noticed the sick was clear and very close to the sofa, and he strangely collapsed about a foot or two further away.
I was stroking my cat while he was on the back of the sofa. I turned around, heard him jump down, and then he vomited. I asked him if he was okay, and that’s when I saw him all slumped over the wheels of my desk chair. I rushed to move the chair away and my cat wasn't moving. He was panting heavily with his mouth open, and he had drool around his mouth, which was hanging open with his tongue out. I booked an emergency vet appointment, but I was told I'd have to wait two hours. I let him rest for about 25 minutes and went to have a shower. When I came back, he was in a corner and didn't look right, but I let him rest for another good half hour. I could stroke him, but I didn't dare pick him up straight away. I went to get the car ready, as it's winter, and when I came back in I picked him up, but he wanted to get back down on the floor. I wanted to check if he’d broken a leg, but when I put him down, he started walking with no obvious pain. He was moving fine but still seemed a bit shaken up. I cancelled the emergency appointment because it was very pricey, and I sat on the sofa with him beside me. He rested for a good two or three hours next to me. Now he seems fine; he’s eaten and had some water, but I’m trying to keep him off high surfaces, and I don’t think he feels like jumping up anyway. My question is, could he have had a bad fall and ended up with a concussion? I’m going to keep an eye on him over the next few days, and if anything seems off, I’ll book another vet appointment. Has anyone ever experienced anything like this? But like I said, I didn’t actually see him fall coming down from the back of the sofa; I just noticed the vomit was clear and very close to the sofa, and then about a foot or two further away, he just strangely collapsed. Thanks in advance, Seb. Here is how he was looking:
I was stroking my cat while he was on the back of the sofa. I turned away, then heard him jump down and he was sick. I asked him if he was okay, and that's when I saw him all slumped over the wheels of my desk chair. I rushed to move the chair and my cat wasn't moving. He was breathing heavily with his mouth open, and he had some drool around his mouth, which stayed open with his tongue hanging out. I booked an emergency vet appointment, but I was told there’d be a two-hour wait. I let him rest for about 25 minutes and went to have a shower. When I came back, he was in a corner and didn't look right, but I let him rest for another good half hour; I could stroke him, but I didn't dare pick him up just yet. I went to get the car ready, as it's winter, and when I came back in I picked him up, but he wanted to get back down on the floor. I wanted to check if he’d broken a leg, but when I put him down, he started walking without any apparent pain. He began moving around fine but still seemed a bit shaken up. I cancelled the emergency appointment because it was so expensive, and I sat on the sofa with him next to me. He rested for a good 2 or 3 hours by my side. Now he seems okay, he’s eaten and had some water, but I’m trying to make sure he doesn't jump up on anything high and I don't think he really wants to anyway. My question is: could he have had a bad fall and suffered a concussion? I’m going to keep a close eye on him over the next few days, and if anything seems wrong, I'll book another appointment with the vet. Has anyone else been through something similar? As I mentioned, I didn't actually see him fall when he got down from the back of the sofa; I only noticed that the vomit was clear and very close to the sofa, and it was a foot or two further away that he’d strangely collapsed.
I agree... just to put your mind at rest and just in case, ask to speak to the vet you saw and definitely mention the vomiting, especially if it carries on.
As for the rest, he’s likely in some pain so he can’t get comfortable... but if he’s sleeping, he must be feeling a bit better now. It’s completely normal for him to be a bit out of sorts—it's been a long day for him and he just needs to be left to recover.
Hi, about ten years ago, the same thing happened to our little cat Pacha who was 2 at the time, but he’d fallen from the 4th floor; my partner found him huddled at the bottom and when she brought him back up, he went straight to hide in a wardrobe he never normally went into. We decided to wait before taking him to the vet because physically there was nothing wrong, except he wouldn't eat his dry food anymore, so we bought him some wet food and that went down fine. On the Monday, we took him to the vet who found that he didn't have anything wrong except for a broken jaw, as apparently it's the jaw that absorbs the shock when a cat falls from a height. So apart from a massive fright for him and us, and a few days where he was acting a bit strangely, our Pacha was doing just fine and even today he still gives us cuddles and gets up to his usual feline antics; I hope your cat will be just as well, and if you're really worried, call your vet back—that’s what they’re there for. When my dog isn't doing well, I don't think twice, I just call! 😎
Thank you for sharing your story, luckily my cat hasn’t broken his jaw, or anything else. Little Maiko is sleeping peacefully on the sofa, his breathing is calm and he hasn't been sick for an hour now. I think the car journey must have shaken him up a bit (I live in the countryside and the road I took to get to the vet has a 55 mph limit for about 20 minutes); I reckon it probably just upset his tummy! I'll keep a close eye on him and if I notice anything's not right, I'll call my vet back 😋
